touch-friends wow!! woww!!!

hi!

what is touch! what is friends! what is touch-friends! that's for us to decide!!!

once again i ask the question, how can we survive the collapse and shape change in the world if we are afraid to touch, be touched and be INNNN TOUCH freely truly authentically trustfully courageously? can we take this risk and surrender to the unknown and maybe maybe maybe emerge as something more magnificent, something we could never imagine before?

at touch-friends wow !! woww!!! we will use our time together to play and experiment with consensual touch

• that is not genital-centred,
• that is pleasurable for you (and you are the only authority on the matter of what's pleasurable for you or not),
• that does not have to imply or lead to romantic or sexual relations,
• that is liberated in its creativity and accessiblity where the only limit is your current imagination

it won't be straight into touch though:

• we will talk about our current relationships to touch and embrace,
• discuss consent,
• cultivate self-connection and tune into our bodies,
• and practice accepting nothing less but AMAZING FANTASTIC PLEASURE for the time we are together
  this is an informal event and you are encouraged to take the best care of yourself, your body and boundaries (+ call people into supporting you with this) and participate as much as you want.

• opening circle;
• informative discussion about consent;
• simple exercises to practice giving consent and asking for consent;
• self-connection and body grounding activities;
• held space to explore giving and receiving touch with other queers;
• magic spells!!!!!!!
• closing circle.

this is an informal space that is oriented towards radical inclusivity. main emphasis of this event is to stay in connection to your body, needs, and wants. there is no emphasis on a certain endgoal, instead everyone is encouraged throughout to stay in self-connection, tend to their bodies and limits – participation in exercises is optional and you can change your mind at any point.

• please aim to arrive 5-10 minutes before the event official start time if possible.
• please be mindful of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and other viral infections that go around to protect all participants and facilitators who might be immunocompromised, disabled or chronically ill.
• please do not attend the event if you (or people you've been in close contact with, or people you live with) experience symptoms of COVID-19 or other viral infection.
• please return the ticket or notify the organisers if you are no longer able to attend as tickets are limited – it is rare we get to run this event and we would love for as many people as possible to join the experience.
• we thank you for your solidarity with the disabled struggle and the struggle against isolation and separation of all peoples; it is the struggle of our times; access is love.

• warm, comfortable, cosy clothes, and bring layers to adjust
• socks or like non-slip socks?? see info below
• pillows, cushions, blankets, throws, yoga mats – and other items that will make sitting* and lying on the floor comfortable for you.
• *for those who find sitting on the floor difficult we will have chairs to sit down.
• bring an item that spiritually/emotionally/physically makes you feel good and self-connected to put on our shared altar.
• if you would like to wear a mask that's very welcome.

🌀 the event will take place in the Aldridge Community Space in the South East Dance's The Dance Space at 2 Market Sq, Circus St, Brighton and Hove, Brighton BN2 9AS. there is another venue called The Dance Space on Gloucester Road – THAT'S THE WRONG ONE 🙅‍♀️🙅🙅‍♂️.

🌀 the venue, the studio where the event will happen, changing facilities and disabled toilets are all on the ground floor with step-free access and wheelchair accessible.you can take a virtual tour of the venue here.

🌀 only bottled water is allowed inside the studio, if you bring lunch, snacks or other type of drink it should be left in the changing room and consumed during the break outside of the studio.

🌀there is cute outside space to have a sensory time-out if you start feeling overwhelmed or just need a minute to yourself.

🌀this is an event for queer people! LGBTQIA++++++!

🌀 no shoes are allowed inside the studio, only socks or barefoot (to protect the special floors made for dancing). that does not apply to wheelchair users.

🌀 it is not a workshop, nobody will be WORKING or SHOPPING. it is a PLEASURE GARDEN*. the point of a pleasure garden is to prioritise your own wellbeing & pleasure and embrace an informed and relaxed atmosphere of a chill garden hang.

🌀 this is an informal space and throughout the pleasure garden you are invited to tend to your needs when they arise: you are welcome to take sensory breaks and toilet or food breaks whenever you damn please 😎 and ask for support with your needs, boundaries and limitations as much as you please 😎.

🌀 all activities we offer are an invitation that you are encouraged to decline if that feels best 😎! there is no endgoal to this pleasure garden but we would love it if you felt comfortable to connect to your body and participate in playful touch for the purpose of pleasure.

🌀 we will have an official 15 min break in the middle but you are encouraged to take small breaks throughout.

🌀 this is a sober event and is strictly for people aged 18+.

🌀 there will be two facilitators (em & vi), one of whom will be available most times if any feelings or thoughts come up that you want those to be witnessed in a non-judgemental held way (or for somebody to stay with you through the overwhelm).

🌀 after Carmen Papalia's Open Access manifesto, we define access as people coming together in a temporary, collectively held space and putting trust in each other to respond to each other's needs with support, we hope we can collectively work towards this.

🌀 hand sanitising gel and FFP2 NR masks will be provided and are free to use for everyone.

Please get in touch if you have any questions, concerns or suggestions! We are happy to chat to you: email [email protected] with a subject line "touch friends!".

this event is our loving offer to the queer community and is free to book. to cover the costs of the venue hire (£60), travel (£25) + production costs (£40), and to compensate for our labor (this event is unfunded) we welcome donations of any size as a part of solidarity economy 🌈❤️🌈

if you cannot afford making a monetary contribution at this time, that is really okay!

if you are in a privileged financial position, we would welcome you making it monetary-solidarity-rain so we can continue this work into the future as queer trans & disabled creators 💦🍑💸

future viiiibes (Brighton, UK)

em~body (Berlin, Germany)

PLEASURE GARDENS* is a term coined by Devil's Dyke Network to use instead of the word "workshop" because we are not big fans of WORK or SHOPS. but we are big fans of PLEASURE and GARDENS. it also refers to our BIG PLEASURE GARDEN FESTIVAL held in Octobe 2019 at Lighthouse, Brighton. the word pleasure might not make sense at first when you think about writing activities for grief or talks on Pr*son abolition – but this is exactly where we are taking a stance. there is pleasure in accesing the whole spectrum of feelings and experiences, in being informed, and in learning how to take care of ourselves and others. and more than anything, there can be pleasure in being together. we hope you join us.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

South East Dance at The Dance Space, 2 Circus Street, Brighton and Hove, United Kingdom